Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Kindness. Something we see a lot around food blogs, but we hardly find elsewhere.

I needed to install the wireless connection at home and since I know nothing about computers I called my brother for help. He stopped by with Paulo, a techie friend of his. In minutes I was using my new laptop. Great.

What could I make as a thank you gift? Something sweet, of course. Cookies, then. Scandalously full of chocolate.

My brother was in charge of taking the box to Paulo – knowing him as the back of my hand, I sent extra cookies to make sure the gift got delivered. :)

The dough is more like a batter, fluid and difficult to be dropped onto the baking sheets, so I refrigerated it for a couple of minutes. The cookies were delicious and I heard they were gone in no time.

Preheat oven to 175ºC/350ºF; line 2 large baking sheets with parchment or baking paper.

Heat chopped chocolate and butter in a microwave-safe bowl in 20-second increments, stirring in between, until almost melted; do not overheat – I used a double-boiler for that.In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.In a mixing bowl, beat eggs, brown sugar, and vanilla on high speed until light and fluffy. Reduce speed to low; beat in melted chocolate. Mix in flour mixture until just combined. Stir in chocolate chunks.Refrigerate dough for 5-10 minutes or until firm enough to be scooped and place on baking sheets.Drop heaping tablespoons of dough 5-7cm (2-3in) apart onto baking sheets. Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until cookies are shiny and crackly yet soft in centers, 12 to 15 minutes.Cool on sheets 10 minutes; with a thin metal spatula, transfer to racks to cool completely.

That is the coolest name for a cookie- "outrageous chocolate cookies". And what's best is that they indeed seem match their title! I don't make cookies so often, but when I see recipes like this I tell myself that I need to get cookie'n!!

Pat, these cookies look like crunchy with a bit of chewy texture inside (?) really sound outrageously delicious!I have a friend like Paulo, very kind, helped when all sort of technical (usually the biggest/ the most disastrous) problems.

Holy guacamole! Look at those! They look kind of like prehistoric chocolate, as if these were the chocolate cookies that first walked out of the swamp and said "I'm gonna go and find me a wrapper"! What a lovely trade - IT skills for chocolate cookies :)

I made these cookies when I discovered this recipe or a similar recope on Martha Stewart's web site. The plain chocolate cookies are wonderful. Sometimes, I substitute some Reeses Peanut Butter chips (4oz) for about half of the chocolate chips. They give the cookie a different, but good flavor.